Megan Westberg

1 month ago | stringsmagazine.com | Megan Westberg

By Megan Westberg | From the January/February 2025 issue of StringsString players will often begin their training long before they have grown into full-size instruments. To give budding musicians a tuneful start, the most must be made of fractional instruments, from which it can, at times, be challenging to coax an encouraging and satisfying tone.

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Megan Westberg

7 hours agoThis week, a violin made by famed Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari could become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction. Sotheby's is estimating that a Stradivarius made in 1714 could fetch $12 to $18 million on Friday. The upper end of that range could beat the previous record …

Jan 24, 2025 | stringsmagazine.com | Megan Westberg

By Laurie NilesAs a violinist and teacher who lives in Pasadena, I have witnessed first-hand the devastation of the fires that have ravaged Southern California in early January. This week I saw two of my violin students—sisters—whose elementary and middle schools had both burned down in the fire. They had been out of school for two weeks—since the Eaton Canyon Fire—and were waiting to be relocated. The third-grader explained that her class had had a picnic so the kids could see each other.

Jan 22, 2025 | stringsmagazine.com | Megan Westberg

By Megan Westberg | From the January/February 2025 issue of StringsViolinist Sarah Neufeld and cellist Rebecca Foon first met as teenagers at an Ani DiFranco concert. This seems a good place to start, as any discussion of their new album, First Sounds (Envision Records)—on which Neufeld and Foon combine talents with those of multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry—really has to start in the late ’90s, when this trio initially came together.

Dec 15, 2024 | stringsmagazine.com | Megan Westberg

By Megan Westberg | From the November/December 2024 issue of StringsDressed in a rich, reddish chocolate shade, with darker patches and small dings signifying a long and eventful life, the Musical Instrument Museum’s (MIM) c. 1560s Andrea Amati violin is a treat to behold.